Finding boondocking and hidden camping gems
Trains, Planes and Moochdocking Gains
On episode 312 of the StressLess Camping RV Podcast, we share some places we have boondocked, or mooch docked, at railroad museums, airfields and more to enhance an already great visit. Museum mooching? Tony railroaded Peggy into recording this podcast. He has a one-track mind. We didn’t get our signals crossed.
And we share an article we found about the history of camping.
Other places to hear the podcast
Mentioned on this episode
We stayed at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum
The schedule for the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014
Our former resort - the Featherbed Railroad Bed & Breakfast Resort
We renewed our vows on the Durango and Silverton railroad
We have also stayed at the Southern California Railway Museum
Another great railroad museum is the Oklahoma Railway Museum
If you’re confused about solar, battery power or just want to upgrade your RV we have found the solutions from ABC Upfitters are both reliable and exceptional.
We have a podcast episode and video where you can learn more here.
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 312
Peggy
On episode three twelve of the Stressless Camping podcast, we share some places we have boondock, moochdocked, museum docked.
Tony
Yeah. We've got some creative places that you might consider if you're thinking of boondocking or moochdocking or train docking
Peggy
or whatever. Tony sort of railroaded me into this episode.
Tony
I've got a one track mind and, uh, you know, a lot of self, uh, steam.
Peggy
Oh, boy. Uh. We also share an article that Tony found about the history of camping.
Tony
Yeah. It's kinda cool. Well, you can find this week's episode along with the tips, tricks, ideas, and destinations at our home on the web at stresslesscamping.com.
Peggy
Thank you for joining us for episode 312. Welcome to the railyard.
Tony
Yeah. I'm Tony. I'm Peggy. And we're two RV industry veterans, and I'm a foamer who travel part time
Peggy
In that mini light.
Tony
Looking to share big adventures and help you with great tips
Peggy
Tricks.
Tony
And discounts. We don't want you to get off track this episode.
Peggy
Oh, no.
Tony
Oh, yeah. Oh, they're coming.
Peggy
Oh, the pun alert is gonna get worn out this week.
Tony
Absolutely. So
Peggy
Tanya found this article, and we'll put a link, of course, to the history of camping. How did camping actually become an activity? Right? I mean, in the old days, there were pioneers. I suppose you could call them campers.
Peggy
Yeah. Even full timers for a while. Yeah. There was military. Of course, when they were out seeing the action, they had to sleep outside somewhere.
Peggy
But where did camping become a, uh, a pastime
Tony
of Yeah. The idea of finding a comfortable spot
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
And setting that as a home base for the night. Well, we have this article, and I found it originally listening to an old Living the RV Dream with John and Kathy Huggins. And I'm like, oh, that's a great bunch of resources to share. So we'll probably split this up into several episodes of Okay. History of Camping.
Peggy
Make sense.
Tony
The history of camping, according to this article, started in 1861, and Gunnery Camp was founded in Washington, Connecticut by Frederick by Frederick I can't say Frederick, can I? By Frederick Gunn, who owned a boy's school. Taking his wards on a two week trip, they hiked to a specific wilderness area where they set up camp. Activities included hiking, fishing, and observing nature, and, of course, cooking over an outdoor fire.
Peggy
Oh. Let's jump forward from 1861 to 1874 when the YWCA established its first camp in Pennsylvania. It was called Sea Rest and catered to women only because, of course, the YWCA, not YMCA, YWCA is the Young Women's Christian Association.
Tony
Yes. Indeed. Alright. Uh, in 1885, surprisingly, it took men eleven years to realize that camping could be fun and set up a YMCA camp in New York. And that camp, believe it or not, is still in operation today.
Tony
And over the ensuing years, the concept of camping just kinda steadily grew. 1885. Wow.
Peggy
Now let's jump another fifteen years because in 1900, the first boys camp club was built in Salem, Massachusetts. And then in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America established a camp in New York. In 1912, the first Girl Scout camp was established in Georgia.
Tony
Yeah. You gotta keep the Boy Scouts away from the Girl Scouts. Right? In the nineteen thirties, the National Park Service developed 34 recreation demonstration areas, a complex government name for campgrounds, which are later turned over to state agencies.
Peggy
So we do have some more history things, but I think we'll as Tony said, we'll break it up. There's, like, one on gear and one on tents, and, you know, we'll just we'll do one every week.
Tony
Yeah. We're gonna string it along
Peggy
String it along.
Tony
Because that way, we don't have to think of anything new. Uh-huh. No. That's not true. We love thinking of new stuff.
Peggy
Uh-huh.
Tony
We talk a lot about boondocking, mooch docking, boond barreling, beer docking, wallydocking.
Peggy
And now museum mooching.
Tony
Yeah. So, you know, there are some really good services out there. We are big, big fans of Harvest Hosts
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
And their affiliated, uh, Boondockers Welcome. Sure. That is a service where they have established you know, they they work with established businesses to create a place where you can come and and do what we're doing Right. Camp on their property. Right.
Tony
But something we have found is that they don't always have to be a member of Harvest Host. If you have a passion for something, especially if that's something where there's a lot of property around it
Peggy
Right.
Tony
You might be able to just call them and say, hey. Can I stay there? And where we are right now is a prime example of that.
Peggy
That. Right. And we're gonna talk about it. But I wanted to go back a little bit. Some of you well, you all know that Tony's, like, super into beer, and we travel on our beer bellies.
Peggy
Uh, but what you may or may not also know is that he's also really, really train train lover. And
Tony
I don't know. There's a term
Peggy
for that. There is a term. Now I was looking it up this morning to verify, and, uh, it's kind of a derogatory term. Yeah. But we have embraced it nonetheless.
Peggy
And the rail employees call people like us foamers because we're so excited to see a train that we foam at the mouth with inside.
Tony
People stand at the side of the tracks, and they're like, oh, train. Oh, train. And I stand at I stand at the side of the tracks and go, oh, train. Oh, train.
Peggy
I like trains. Yeah. So we just wanted to give you a little, you know, brief history of our train loving pre RV days. Tony, why don't you, um, I don't know your whole train history. So if you have, like,
Tony
a show you, Katie.
Peggy
A one minute, you know, slight introduction that isn't already written down.
Tony
I just, when I was a little kid, my grandma lived in Germany and sent me my first train set, and I was just hooked. And I was just, uh, I don't know, eight or seven or whatever. And believe it or not, I kept that until I finally so model railroads come in different sizes. I would no long no longer model that size, and I sold it to a friend of mine who still has it. I've always liked anything mechanical.
Tony
If it stinks or burns fuel or makes a lot of noise, I'm probably very interested in it.
Peggy
Probably so. But our history together what do I write? What did I write down there first? Oh, the big boy. Right?
Peggy
You did this for a lot of years before I met you. And then the Big Boy that's now homed in Cheyenne, Wyoming used to be stationary at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.
Tony
There was one year we went to the fair, and they had a they had put an air compressor up to the whistle of the big boy. And for, like, $5, you could blow the whistle, and that $5, they said, was meant to help keep that locomotive in a state where somebody could restore it. And I made the comment, and I can't repeat the entire comment.
Peggy
Oh, when donkeys fly No. As pigs Oh, pigs fly.
Tony
Fly from a certain part
Peggy
of your anatomy. Yeah.
Tony
I said that's about when somebody's gonna restore something that big.
Peggy
Well, the joke's on him because Yeah. The big boy got restored. It is now, like I said, housed in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It makes I know last year it made a trip west and then it made a trip east. So it
Tony
It's scheduled to go to Colorado this year, I think.
Peggy
Yep. So last year when it was coming home from its West Coast trip, we went to Cheyenne and did a whole you we can I'll put a link to the episode. We talked about tent camping. We actually tent camped in Cheyenne so that we could go and see the big boy coming home to Cheyenne.
Tony
That was pretty cool.
Peggy
That was very cool.
Tony
Um, you know, another reason maybe I like trains is because I was always getting coal in my stocking. I had to do something with that.
Peggy
Oh, that could be
Tony
it. Anyway, later, we rode the Amtrak from Union Station in Los Angeles to Colorado, and that was that was if you ever have a chance to ride the, you know, passenger train on a like, a proper one, not a tourist train. Although, if you have a chance to ride on
Peggy
tour Tourist trains are the best.
Tony
Yeah. Uh, do it. It is it's a remarkable experience. Yeah.
Peggy
It's a great way to travel. So we did that Amtrak trip. And then we couldn't get enough of trains, so we actually bought 11 cabooses
Tony
on Like real railroad
Peggy
cabooses. Cabooses retired from actual railroads, and that was in Northern California, and it was a bed and breakfast. And so for seven years, we owned a bed and breakfast made out of railcars. We had
Tony
They're all cabooses.
Peggy
A g scale train running around the ceiling of the dining room. It um, just trying to explain that we really like trains.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
Right?
Tony
Right. Well, when I was, you know, being manufactured and they said, hey. Do you want brains? Mhmm. I thought they said trains.
Tony
I said, yeah. Give me two. Anyway, actually, last month in May, renewed our vows after twenty years of marriage Yep. Aboard the Durango in Silverton
Peggy
That's right.
Tony
In Colorado. So we wanted to talk about, you're like, okay. What's
Peggy
the train for tourists? RVing in this RV podcast.
Tony
We wanted to talk about tourist trains tend to have very large properties. And, like, this we're at the Nevada Northern in Ely, Nevada right now, and they have a huge property as is pretty common. And while this spot is not on Harvest Hosts, we called, and they're like, yeah. We have even couple of places with electrical hookups.
Peggy
We do boondock a lot. We do talk a lot about our our batteries and and running the air conditioner for a little while. But let's face it. Nevada, in summertime, I'm really happy that we had hookups. Um, we probably would have survived without them.
Tony
Oh, yeah.
Peggy
But the fact that they not only will allow us to spend a couple of nights here, but gave us a a good safe parking spot with an electrical hookup is a super bonus.
Tony
Yeah. Just so you know, we are also members now of Nevada Northern. I think we're members of the Oklahoma Railroad Museum.
Peggy
Which we'll talk about next.
Tony
Yeah. That's next.
Peggy
Thank you.
Tony
That means the train is about to leave. Three blasts means moving forward.
Peggy
So we're gonna talk until it's too loud, and then we're gonna let you listen to the train while we take a break or whatever while while the train goes by.
Tony
But another thing, uh, let's say you have a fair amount of free time. Uh, a lot of these tourist trains are starving for volunteers. Sure. And there's everything from repairing tracks and doing maintenance to work in the gift shop, helping with paperwork, uh, all of that sort of stuff. So that's another way of getting some train time in and also some camping in.
Peggy
We did become members. We did ride a train yesterday, and we're riding another one this evening. And we purposely set up knowing that this train was gonna go by.
Tony
We're also right by a grade crossing, so you're gonna hear them honk to go through that in just a moment.
Peggy
They have a certain honk they have to do to go through the grade crossings.
Tony
Two longs, short and long. Here it comes. I love it.
Peggy
That was us yesterday. Yes. So what else? Here at Nevada Northern, there's a museum. This was a working, uh, mine train.
Peggy
They mined coal coal? Yeah. Actually, they mined copper here. Copper. It was the working, you know, mine train until 1983.
Peggy
From eighteen eighty something until 1983. And now there's a museum, of course, the passenger train, the fun rides, and you can, like, as Tony said, become a member, become a volunteer, and you can camp on property.
Tony
Yeah. That's the first one. We may go inside
Peggy
because all
Tony
of a sudden, it got really windy.
Peggy
Wind is gonna make it impossible for you to hear.
Tony
Yep.
Peggy
Hold on.
Tony
Okay. As you can see, we have a change of venue.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Who would have thought in the High Desert, it would be windy? My gosh. It's like being at home.
Peggy
So So you're gonna compete with the air conditioner? We're gonna compete with the air conditioner a little bit, but it's better than the wind outside. So sorry. So that was Nevada Northern. That's where we still are and where we have already started to make plans to come next year.
Tony
Yeah. We actually are thinking of spending a month here as volunteers.
Peggy
Another railroad museum that we have visited and been allowed to stay even though they were not a harvest host, and we didn't use them, but they actually have some hookups on our base.
Tony
There too.
Peggy
And that's at the Oklahoma
Tony
Yeah. Oklahoma Railroad Museum.
Peggy
Railroad Museum? I wanna make sure I got the name right.
Tony
Yep.
Peggy
Okay. And that's in Oklahoma City, and that was also a really great overnight stay. We actually know the, uh, I don't know his title exactly, general manager or something.
Tony
Something like Eric.
Peggy
He actually stayed with us at the bed and breakfast.
Tony
Yeah. Because he's a train fan too.
Peggy
And said if you ever come to Oklahoma City well, when we owned a bed and breakfast, we didn't figure that would ever happen, but then it did. Yeah. And so we got to stay with Eric.
Tony
It was a great experience. And again, they have a museum there. And they're as all these tourist trains are, uh, they're looking for volunteers to help out. So if you can stay for a longer period of time, instead of work camping, how fun would it be Yeah. To stay at a train place?
Tony
Now, if you are work camping and need the money,
Peggy
that's the
Tony
different enchilada. Although, who knows? Right?
Peggy
Now we were in a little bit more of a hurry. I don't know the answer to this. Does the Oklahoma Rail Museum have a train you can ride? Yes. Yes.
Tony
Absolutely.
Peggy
We did not get to do that. So I
Tony
think we
Peggy
were there. Back. We had to well
Tony
Beginning or end of the season. Something like that.
Peggy
Well, and we were only there one night. So we were able to go through the museum in the morning, and then we had to get back on the road. So we didn't really have time.
Tony
Another one we've stayed at is the Southern California Railroad Museum, which was called
Peggy
It was called the Orange Empire.
Tony
Yeah. It was that when we stayed there. They were, at that point, a harvest host, but, uh, so I'm gonna say, folks, if you are staying at a Harvest Host, be respectful of the host. It's no longer a Harvest Host.
Peggy
They told us when we were there that members will come, and some of those members, you know, will come and volunteer for, I don't know, a day, a week, a month, and they will bring their RV and they will RV on the property. So I know that that's still a possibility or that was at that time still a possibility. As always, call ahead. Even if you weren't a Harvest Host member. And, you know, frankly, these kind of places live on volunteers.
Peggy
Yeah. Right? So if you're willing to put in some time, I not gonna make any guarantees, but I would be willing to bet that they will try to accommodate your RV so that you can stay there and work for them.
Tony
There's a lady I follow on TikTok, uh, Lauren Osher, and she is, uh, she calls herself the female foamer. And they she showed some, uh, events like the Midwest, I think. I don't remember exactly what it's called. But anyway, it's a huge property also. And again, it's like a festival, but with antique tractors and trains and blah blah blah.
Tony
That might be an option too. Uh, we, uh, we were in, uh, cold water and there was they were working on the train in a volunteer place there. So these places are all over the country. Yeah. They're everywhere.
Tony
Obviously, different degrees of what they can do based on their insurance and blah blah blah. But, uh, might be if you're interested in in a really unusual stay and perhaps ride the trains.
Peggy
Right? What we know also is that the Featherbed Railroad where the where we used to own the cabooses and it was a bed and breakfast and still is a bed and breakfast, They have also become a Harvest Host. So if you want to stay among the trees and the redwoods the I'm sorry. The cabooses and the redwoods, the trees and the trains, uh, that is a Harvest Host site now, and it's, you know, really pretty. I think I'm gonna see about spending one night there when we're in the area.
Tony
If we do, I have been asked to fix their g scale train.
Peggy
Yeah. Well, we'll just have to see what happens. But, anyway, you know, you can find Harvest Hosts everywhere, and you can find train things everywhere. And if you are not even a foamer, but just a train liker, you can find trains all over the place, and you really should. It's a lot of fun.
Tony
If it's not trains, perhaps you like airplanes. Some of those are on we we've stayed at a, uh, not abandoned, uh, decommissioned airfield.
Peggy
Right. That's a good point.
Tony
So a lot of these museums that have a lot of property, just by the the nature of what they are, may offer you the chance to stay there and, you know, support the museum, maybe do some volunteering or not. You know, we're all doing this RV thing so we can experience new exciting fun stuff.
Peggy
Right.
Tony
And to me, this is exciting and fun. Fun. Not that new because a lot of these trains have been here for a while.
Peggy
But each of the times that we go to a new place, it's new.
Tony
Well, there's that. So we will, of course, put in our plug for our friends at ABC Upfitters. Uh, while we did get, uh, 30 amp connection here at the Nevada Northern
Peggy
That's not always the case. Right? There are
Tony
a lot of places like, uh, some of the other places we've stayed there, uh, there were no hookups. And so that's something to consider.
Peggy
Right.
Tony
Uh, something most railroads have water in abundance because steam engines are thirsty things.
Peggy
And I mean, it'll be potable water, though.
Tony
That's true.
Peggy
That could be a problem.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
But I mean, they have if they've got a visitor center in it, you know, they've got they've got potable water, whether it's a place that they're able to share or not is, again, up to the individual place, and we just recommend you see a place that you wanna go. It's a museum or, I mean, even frankly, a restaurant. We've stayed in restaurant parking lots with permission, eaten there, of course. This is a an idea. Look on a map, an aerial view of a map, and if they look like they have a great big parking lot, chances are they're gonna be amenable to letting you hang around there, especially if you're gonna volunteer some time or become a member or, you know, buy two train rides.
Tony
At the gift shop. I'm looking at our new train mug over there, and I have a new train shirt. Not this one. This is from
Peggy
Big Brother. A new one. And we always encourage them to become harvest hosts too. So
Tony
Yeah. That there's that. Uh, so we had talked about how we pull this off. You know, anybody who's listened to this podcast for any length of time knows we've got a solar and lithium system based on Mastervolt components from our friends at ABC Upfitters. And the things we like, we have used it on this trip several times overnighting.
Tony
It it just works so well. We can't be more pleased with the performance of this system, with the quality of the installation. We have not really had the call for support, but we know that you'd speak with Scott or you speak with Ben or, you know, you you it's a America based English speaking, you know, people who know what they're talking about and who are polite.
Peggy
It's a small enough company that you're almost likely to talk to the same couple of people every single time because it's the only people that there are.
Tony
Right. But it's also a big enough company that they supply like Thor vans.
Peggy
Well, sure.
Tony
And Rockwood and Flagstaff and a number of other brands. So they have
Peggy
Well, they have a lot of behind the scenes.
Tony
Yes.
Peggy
Yeah. What I meant was the people that answer the phone.
Tony
Right. It's not a giant corporation, but it's not a company that's struggling. So Right. Anyway, uh, if you are looking for a great solar and lithium system, you can give them a call at (574) 333-3225.
Peggy
That's (574) 333-3225 or use this QR code or look at the show notes for a link to their page on stresslesscamping.com. Okay. So last week we asked on our question of the week, we asked you to share, uh, the most breathtaking, beautiful piece of America that you have seen. Thank you.
Tony
Canada or Mexico.
Peggy
Canada or Mexico or Europe or wherever you are. Right? We had just gone at that time through Southern Utah, and we were still reeling with the beauty. And, you know, there's so many beautiful places. And thank you, the ones that have already answered and sent pictures, you know, added pictures.
Peggy
I'm loving it. I'm loving it. Loving it. And, uh, by the way, tell us where it is so we can go.
Tony
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Peggy
And this week, because we're talking about railroad museums, and that's, of course, our favorite, what is your favorite kind of museum?
Tony
Well, is it I mean, what about the I 80 truck stop with trucks? I like those. And car museums, that's another source.
Peggy
I do like car museums an awful lot.
Tony
Again, if it stinks and burns fuel, I'm interested most likely.
Peggy
I am a geologist, so I like natural history museums.
Tony
And she likes me because I have rocks in my head.
Peggy
There's that. So there's that. Anyway, let us know what your favorite museum is or your favorite type of museum.
Tony
And have you stayed?
Peggy
And have you spent the night at one? That's a good good part of the question.
Tony
So you can answer that question or pose your own questions or participate in the discussion at our fun and friendly Stressless Campers Facebook group. And and truly it has been fun and friendly. Very polite group of of RVers.
Peggy
Absolutely. If you don't already know, we do have a once a week newsletter. You can sign up at stresslesscamping.com on any page that you see, and we don't share your information. We use it to send you an email once a week every Thursday morning. Right?
Tony
Yeah. That's great.
Peggy
This last one that we did on Wednesday afternoon to make a special announcement. And as I said last week, although I forgot specifically what I was gonna add to the newsletter, sometimes there's stuff stuff in the newsletter that we don't talk about because we think about it too late or because I really wanna see who's reading. So sign up for the newsletter. You'll get it once a week. It'll remind you that a podcast is coming out, and it'll give you links and stories to other things that we found out there on the Internet.
Tony
Yeah. And don't forget to check out our favorite RV products and services. Last week, we learned about some new Camco stuff, but we've got a whole collection of of stuff. We are very pleased to spend your money on your behalf.
Peggy
Absolutely. Some of those places do have discounts.
Tony
Yeah. Spend a little less money.
Peggy
And all of those links are places that we shop or have shopped from. Not just random, like, hey. Do you wanna put a link on your website?
Tony
We don't we don't do
Peggy
that unless we know the company and know the products.
Tony
Yep. Of course, we're also in all the social places. And you can start with a link on our website and don't waste time with the rest of us at home, all the, you know, all the usual social subjects. Here. Social sub suspects.
Peggy
Suspects. Oh, okay.
Tony
New mouth, and it ain't working out.
Peggy
If you are listening and you want to read the links, see the links or read the show notes for episode 312, that, of course, is at our website. And, of course, you don't wanna miss a future episode. So wherever you're getting this podcast audibly, subscribe on that podcast app so that you won't miss a future episode of the stress is camping podcast. Yeah. That's a fact.
Peggy
Yeah. Audio version.
Tony
And if you prefer video, you know, the usual YouTube stuff. Uh, hit the like button, maybe make a comment. You can subscribe. All that stuff. Yeah.
Tony
All that YouTubeishness.
Peggy
YouTubeishness. YouTubea.
Tony
Hey, YouTubea. What are you, blowing your own horn? Sorry. Did you read something you liked on our website, or do you like this podcast episode, or you just wanna tell your friends to avoid it, whatever it is?
Peggy
We sure appreciate when you share. Wherever you share from, wherever you share to, we do appreciate it. You know, put it in your socials, email it out to your friends and family, hand a piece of paper to the guy in line behind you at the grocery store. Whatever you feel is appropriate to share, we thank you.
Tony
Yes. We do. Well, with that, uh, we're gonna go back and play with some more trains. We, again, appreciate you being here with us once again. And, uh, most of all,
Peggy
stressless camping.
Tony
Woo,
Mark Ferrell
woo. We hope you learned a lot, and had some fun, and got some tips for your next stressless camping adventure. We're honored by your reviews on Apple Podcasts, which helps others find us too. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss out on the adventure, and we look forward to your joining us next week. Until then, happy camping.
